mr. speaker , the issue of competition is one that is lived out and dealt with daily in my congressional district , silicon valley .  as this resolution states , high-tech industries drive economic growth around the world .  every day my constituents tell me that the united states is falling behind our competitors in europe and asia .  this resolution identifies some of the challenges for u.s. competitiveness .  but this is not enough .  the resolution is not binding .  it does not set into motion any legislative action to address the key issues relative to competition .  one of the top issues in silicon valley today is stock options .  broad-based employee stock options plans drive innovation and competitiveness .  the house overwhelmingly passed legislation i authored with rep .  baker to protect employee stock options almost a year ago , but the administration has refused to lift a finger to get this bill through the senate and to the president 's desk .  for many , many years the high-tech industry has begged congress to make the r & amp ; d tax credit permanent .  it has n't happened .  what has happened is a decline in investment and a diminishment of innovation .  the president has said that the u.s. should have universal broadband access by 2007 .  we 've yet to see the administration 's plan for achieving this .  today the united states has fallen to 16th in broadband penetration , down from 4th in 2001 .  this resolution correctly points to education as a critical issue of competitiveness , but once again this administration and the congressional majority have underfunded critical education programs .  no child left behind is funded $ 39 billion below its promised level .  pell grants will be eliminated for 90 , 000 college students , and an additional 1.3 million students will have their scholarships reduced this year .  these figures do not meet the standards of a great nation serious about her technological and competitive future .  the resolution states that energy is a major problem , yet the department of energy 's independent analysts have said that the provisions in the house energy bill will have a `` negligible '' impact on prices , production , consumption , and imports of energy .  the administration continues to underfund critical federal research programs , flat-funding civilian research and development and reducing total federal research by $ 400 million .  this underfunds our collective future .  what is missing in the congress is the commitment to reshape the critical policies which will renew our nation 's competitiveness in the 21st century .  